Finally, we are home again!
As most of you know, Anthony is a Catastrophe Insurance Adjuster. This means that when there is a government labeled catastrophe, we head that way to inspect the damages to homes in the area.
This year, we've worked in Tennessee, Texas, South Carolina, Indiana and Louisiana so far.
We are blessed in that most of the time, we are able to travel as a family. Because we home school, we don't necessarily keep a strict schedule of places to be at certain times. :)
There are pros and cons in this line of work, for sure!
Some Pros:
* We meet a lot of people on our work assignments that become our life long friends!
As a matter of fact, that's how Avery met our
daughter-in-law, Jamie! They met in a Wednesday night Bible class at the congregation where her Daddy preaches! Technically, they had actually met once before at Bible camp, but they were little guys back then! ;)
* We are able to visit areas of the country that we might not be able to visit if it weren't for work!
I only have 8 more states to visit and I will have seen all 50 states, including Alaska and Hawaii!
*The work travel gives us LOTS of home schooling field trips! The Liberty Bell, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Battlefields galore, The Smithsonian Museums in DC, Fenway Park and every factory tour known to man! We've been there and done ALL of that, plus many, many more things!
Some Cons:
* We are sometimes far away from our family, for months at a time.
* We miss out on church growth, activities... in our home congregation. We try to play "catch up" as soon as we get home to get involved with church work again.
*Lastly, there's just
NO PLACE LIKE
HOME!!
Just a few weeks ago, we headed back toward our
Home Sweet Home... Finally!
I followed behind Anthony as we left the terrible flooding in Louisiana and I snapped a few pictures along the way!
It started raining, AGAIN on our way out of Louisiana, but I caught this beautiful picture right before the rain started.
I thought this picture was really neat, crossing a bridge near Baton Rouge.
Then, as we left the rain, a beautiful rainbow filled the sky along our way!
I was so happy to be able to capture the rainbow and the camper in the same picture!
I love this picture!
Before we knew it, we were home again!!
Home Sweet Home!
The first thing I always do when we get home is to clean up and unpack the camper.
Then, lots and lots of laundry!
We are all so used to living in such a small space together, that it usually takes us a few days to realize that we can move around and all be in separate rooms! Ha! :)
I will fill you in on a few of the things that I've been up to since I've been back home.
First things first, I went to check on my other kiddos!
It just so happened that Avery & Jamie and Ashley & Ricky were all moving!
Besides that, both Jamie and Ashley were admitted to the hospital as soon as we got home!
Jamie had a C-diff infection and Ashley had an emergency appendectomy and pneumonia!
Thankfully, I was able to be with both of them to lend a helping hand.
They are home and feeling better and we got them all settled into their new homes!
Now that I can know that they are all cozy in their homes, I can get back to mine!
I always go through a "Nesting" phase.
The very minute it was officially Fall, I hung my autumn wreath and decorated my pumpkin!
I also worked on a few little " no sew" projects that I had been saving up.
During the summer, I had picked up some scrap material for less than $2.00 on clearance!
I would have liked to have a little more material, but this ended up working just fine for all I wanted to do with it.
I made a "Rag Curtain" ...
and
I made a table runner...
I've also been enjoying cooking again in my kitchen.
Tonight, I made one of Austin's favorite dinners...
It's not a fancy meal, but it sure is comforting!
Austin's Favorite Meatloaf
I'll share the recipe with you :)
Here's what you will need:
1 Pound of ground beef or turkey (I use turkey)
1/4 Cup chopped onion
1 Cup of dry oatmeal
1 Teaspoon of chili powder
1 Teaspoon of salt
1 Teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon of ketchup
1 Cup of milk
and
1 Egg
You just mix all of the ingredients in a bowl and place in a baking dish or a loaf pan to bake.
I choose to bake meatloaf in a baking dish.
I feel like it cooks more evenly.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour!
While that was baking, I was putting up my spices and decided to show you the struggle that I face in my kitchen.
YIKES!
This is my spice cabinet and it is PACKED!
I have rows and rows of spices that I constantly have to climb up there and dig for what I'm needing!
I need more cabinet space!
Okay, back to the meatloaf...
I spread ketchup all over the top surface of the meatloaf about half way through the cooking.
When the hour is up, it's time to eat!
Now that's comfort on a plate!
Before I go, I want to share one more thing that I've been up to!
I was chosen by the hospital to be one of their
Newborn Nursery Cuddlers!
I don't get paid a dime, but I LOVE this job!!
I plan to participate in this volunteer program when we are home.
Then, when we travel for work, I'll leave for a while, but as soon as I get home, I will head straight back to the nursery! <3
Well, those are just some of the things that I've been up to since I got back home.
Now, if we could just stay here for a little while... :)
Before I go, I wanted to share a couple of household tips with you.
"The Works" brand cleaner to remove calcium, rust and lime from bathroom surfaces works just as well as the name brand cleaner CLR!
They both do a GREAT job removing rust!
But...
CLR= $4.99+
(You can find it for this price at just about every grocery and department store around.)
The Works = $1.00
(At any Dollar General and Dollar Tree near you!)
I was amazed at the job "The Works" did on my camper shower and toilet bowl!
Just one more tip...
Use a few drops of peppermint oil mixed with water in a spray bottle to kill household sugar ants!
This tip came from my Mama and boy does it work!
I just spray it all over my cabinets and counter tops and it will not only kill any ants that are there, but it will also keep them away!
While using this spray, you are not breathing in any chemicals and your house will smell nice and minty! ;)
Hope you have a beautiful weekend!
~ John 2: 3 "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." (KJV)
